C-erbB-2 expression is related with pathological progression of gastric cancer: results of a non-radioactive in situ hybridization

Objective: To study the relationship of c-erbB-2 oncogene expression with major pathological characteristics of gastric cancer (GC) progression. Methods: Eighty-one GC specimens were studied for c-erbB-2 oncogene amplification using non-radioactive in situ hybridization method. The c-erbB-2 overexpression status was correlated with tumor differentiation, tumor invasion and lymph node metastasis. Results: Among the 81 pathology confirmed GC patients, 41 (50.6%) were found to have c-erbB-2 overexpression in cancer tissues. The rate of c-erbB-2 overexpression was significantly higher in those with poor tumor differentiation (63.0%, 29/46) than in those with well differentiated tumor (34.3%, 12/35) (x(2)=6.576, P < 0.001); significantly higher in those that invaded into deep muscle and beyond (55.7%, 39/70) than in those with tumors limited to the superficial muscle (18.2%, 2/11) (x(2)=5.357, P < 0.025); and significantly higher in those with lymph node metastases (59.6%, 34/57) than in those without lymph node involvement (29.2%, 7/24) (x(2)=6.278, P < 0.025). Conclusions: c-erbB-2 oncogene overexpression may indicate a more aggressive biological behavior of the tumor and could be used as a predictive marker for GC pathological progression.